Do the bus routes in Paris follow a regular pattern?

Do the bus routes in Paris follow a regular pattern? - Free stock photo of adult, airplane, architecture

I will be in Paris soon and I consider an 'unlimited' day pass for public transport. But I would like to know a bit more about the bus lines.

When having a day pass for public transport in a city it is fun to just jump on a bus and see where it takes you, but it is easier if you can guess what kind of pattern the buses follow.

Someone explained for London that most buses go either east/west or north/south and very few combine those, so to go north-west you travel north first and then change on a west bus or go west first and than change to go north.

In Amsterdam the trams are like the spokes of a wheel or the frame of a net and most buses go round in circles to connect points on the spokes, with a few buses following the tram network. So from the central station which is the start point for the trams, you follow the spokes and if you are in one point of town and want to go to an other without going to the main station, you look at buses.

Do the buses in Paris have a pattern?

busesparisfactoidsroutes


Best Answer

While there does not seem to be a real pattern, the lines have been designated to make their itinerary clear. All bus lines are numbered from 20 to 99. The two figures forming the number of the line each represent a neighborhood in Paris. So when boarding any bus, you can guess if it goes to the neighborhood you want. Some itineraries changed since the network was built, but it still works in many cases. For example, 9x buses terminate at or go through Montparnasse.

I am still curious of the colors for each bus line so if anyone has an explanation please share it (I suppose it is the color of the metro line they follow, I don't have anything better yet).

For the bus lines, Wikipedia lists the neighborhoods.

Also, one should note that the bus and metro networks are not particularly designed to be complementary, some bus and metro lines being very close to each other. Until 2015, connection from one to another were not possible with the same ticket.



Pictures about "Do the bus routes in Paris follow a regular pattern?"

Do the bus routes in Paris follow a regular pattern? - Brown Wooden Arrow Signed
Do the bus routes in Paris follow a regular pattern? - Gray abstract background with linear pattern
Do the bus routes in Paris follow a regular pattern? - Modern bus driving along river against bridge


How does buses work in Paris?

Buses operate from Monday to Saturday from around 7am until 8.30pm. Some lines operate in the evening between 8.30pm and 12.30am, in particular those departing from stations or which serve major metro/RER interchanges, as well as the 3 outer PC lines. Almost half of bus lines operate on Sundays and public holidays.

What is public transport like in Paris?

The Paris public transport system is run by RATP and consists of the M\xe9tro (underground), Tram, RER suburban express train (which interconnects with the M\xe9tro inside Paris), bus and Noctilien (night bus). Paris and its surburbs divide into 6 zones. Zones 1 and 2 cover the city center and ALL M\xe9tro lines.

How easy is it to get around Paris?

The best way to get around Paris is on foot and by metro. The elegant arrondissements are practically made for pedestrians. Still, Paris is very big, so you should take the efficient metro to travel long distances.

How many bus routes does Paris have?

There are approximately 9500 buses serving public transportation across the Paris region, all operators included....RATP bus network.Bus 73 heading towards the Mus\xe9e d'OrsayRoutes315Stopsaround 12,000DestinationsParis * Near suburbs * Paris Airports (Orly & CDG)14 more rows


How to Buy A Paris Metro Ticket (Best Options + 2022 Update)



More answers regarding do the bus routes in Paris follow a regular pattern?

Answer 2

I had a look at a bus line map, the one in this PDF, and did not see a system.
But often it is the regular users who can easily point out what visitors miss seeing. Or it is buses in a certain pattern that are much more frequent than buses that go against the grain.

The river Seine as seen from a bus stop between the Eiffel tower and the Notre Dame
Unforseen stops on the bus (end of service) can get you some great photos.
Photo by Willeke, free to use.

The best I can say for now is that most buses seem to connect far away points, traveling through the center of the city in more or less random almost straight routes, that intersect at times.

Having used the buses in Paris, I would say that most buses in the central part of Paris cross the center and often spread out into the outlaying areas. And I have to say that the company is rather likely to take buses out of action, two times it took two buses to get to where we wanted to go, even then both times we needed to walk the distance of two stops to get where we wanted to go.

In peak times the buses often get stuck in traffic and while they have right of way part of the routes the buses do tend to go in uneven patterns due to traffic holding some of them back. Time indicators at the stops help but they are not always accurate.

For planning purposes, also for disrupted services due to work and such, use this interactive map. If the settings have reverted to metro, there is an option to get buses at the top left, just on the map itself.

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: MART PRODUCTION, Jens Johnsson, Monstera, Olga Lioncat



Related Topics